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Project properties |
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| Title | Berries, land and water in the ejido Jerusalem, Michoacán, Mexico. |
| Group | Water Resources Management group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Jaime Hoogesteger |
| Examiner(s) | |
| Contact info | jaime.hoogesteger@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2020/01/01 |
| End date | 2022/01/01 |
| Description | Country: Mexico
Host institute: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico Period: open Agro-export crops have become popular amongst producers in many parts of the world, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Berries are a group of crops that have become in high demand year round in Europe and North America offering high prices and stable markets to its producers. In the state of Michoacán in central Mexico, the production of berries has boomed since at least the 2000s. Capitalized producers and large farmers have engaged in the production of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries on a large scale around the city of Zamora. The expansion of this production has gone hand in hand with changes in access and control over land and water in the region. One of these areas is the ejido (mexican common lands) of Jerusalem near Zamora. In this ejido investors and capitalized ejidatarios have bought and rented land and sunk deep tubewells to engage in the production of berries. This has brought important changes in local land access and use dynamics. Research Objective/Question This research aims to map and quantify these changes in access to land and water while also describing the processes that have brought these changes in access to land and water about. The guiding questions are: - How has access and use of land and water changed since the berry boom in the ejido Jerusalem? - What processes have driven these changes? - How are these changes transforming the structure of the ejido (community) and its governance? What is expected from the student (type of research) The student is expected to do fieldwork in the ejido to track and trace changes in access and use of land and water. A first exploration will be done through the analysis of satellite images. Through ethnographic research in the ejido the student will identify and describe the processes of change taking place in land and water governance as a consequence of the berry boom. |
| Used skills | Ethnographic research methods , satellite image analysis |
| Requirements | MIL |